A group of local men meets each week to travel back in time. That may sound far-fetched but for the few hours they gather each Wednesday, the modern world fades away as they forge friendships over the ancient craft of blacksmithing.

The men are members of the Midland Max Carey Blacksmiths Guild, and have met weekly for nearly 30 years inside the Midland County Historical Society's Carriage House. Each evening begins with firing up the forges and stoking the coals until the smoke fades and the blue flames turn to a clean yellow/orange blaze. Smoke and blue flames indicate impurities are still burning from the coals. When the flames turn yellow/orange and the smoke clears, the coals have turned to pure coke - perfect for heating and shaping iron, according to Fred Berg of Auburn. If the flames become white, the heat is too intense and can actually dissolve the iron, he said.

Steve Avery buries the end of an iron rod in hot coals for just a few moments then pulls the glowing rod from the heat. He pounds the rod repeatedly until it begins to cool, then once again plunges it into the coals. He repeats these steps throughout the evening, working the rod into an elongated shape to be added to a plant hanger he is crafting.

In another room, several men wearing protective leather aprons and gloves work at adding details to an 8-foot gazebo. Jim Curtis lowers his welding mask and shouts warnings to others to look away as his torch melds together pieces of the iron.

Each member brings to the group his personal and professional experience and together, the group is a infinite pool of talent.

For example, Berg is an engineer with Delphi, Lud Lazarowitz of Kawkawlin is a full-time blacksmith and owner of River Forage, Al Vanderbrink of Hope has 50 years experience as a welder, Jack Speaker of Midland has 50 years experience as a tin knocker (tin smith), and Bill Cauchy of Midland has been blacksmithing for about 40 years.

Twice each year, the group has six-week classes for anyone who would like to learn the art of blacksmithing. There is a fee to help cover the cost of materials used in the classes.

"There are no politics involved; no titles," Berg said. "We all work together and get along with problems or politics involved."

The blacksmiths make a variety of pieces that can be viewed around the Carriage House, the Bradley Home and Museum and Dow Gardens, where visitors can see four trellises in the rose garden, which is near the children's garden.

"The Lapeer Historical Society asked us to replace the damaged gate in their cemetery," Cauchy said. "Someone ran into the iron gate with a car and damaged it. About 12 blacksmiths went with truckloads of equipment and completed the job. It was a very complicated gate."

Also, each summer, blacksmiths converge on Mackinac Island during an annual blacksmith convention.

The main focus for the guys right now is the octagon-shaped gazebo, which they started in November after a Midland family offered to buy the materials and donate the finished project to the historical society. The family suggested the basic design and the blacksmiths worked with that idea to develop it fully, along with advice from Ron Dybalski, an industrial designer from Troy.

"He helped us bring together our ideas," Berg said. "We had 31 members with 31 ideas."

The gazebo has accents of grape clusters and leaves, with scrolls along the top.

To get an idea of the time and attention to detail that went into this project, imagine this: Each grape is made from a ball bearing. The bearing is hammered to create texture, then blackened and combined with about 15 to 17 other grapes in a cluster and melded together with a copper braising rod to the form a bunch. That process is repeated 80 or so times and the bunches are then added around the gazebo. Grape leaves were made in three sizes and each one hammered and textured and welded to the structure. Iron scrolls adorn the top border and, to give it a finishing touch, eight spiral-shaped gate toppers.

The man hours to get the piece completed will total about 180, Berg said.

"These projects help us in our trade," said Berg. "We have different levels of expertise and we all learn as we go."

The finished enclosure will be painted black, Berg said. It will be used during a wedding ceremony to be held at the Carriage House in May. The couple will stand inside the gazebo while cutting and serving their wedding cake.

The gazebo will be used periodically in the historical society's Heritage Park.

"We have a good working relationship with the Historical Society," said Berg. "Gary Skory (director of the Midland County Historical Society) allows us to come here to blacksmith and when they need something special, we do it."